Comestible wafer



G. c. MONACO Re. 25,072

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PASTE TO A COMESTIBLE WAFER Oct. 31, 1961 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Aug. 28, 1957 INVENTOR. 6 60 9565 Mco6.4K; AA&6;,; flflu /yers w Om F NW1 rll. Q 7 Au 7{ A a 1 n J a a a J am 09 3 S. N A: 0 me. do. ww. o3 3. H3 QIIL I. O. 5. I 0

Oct. 31, 1961' G. c. MONACO 2 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PASTE TO ACOMESTIBLE WAFER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 28, 1957 iiii/95525:,

INVENTOR. Gmfst C. fiO/VACQ 4:6.

United States Patent 25,072 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING PASTE TO A COMESTIBLEWAFER George C. Monaco, Little Neck, N.Y.

Original No. 2,923,257, dated Feb. 2, 1960, Ser. No. 680,719, Aug. 28,1957. Application for reissue May 1, 1961, Ser. No. 107,289

2 Claims. (Cl. 1071) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to an apparatus for applying paste to acomestible wafer. The term paste as employed herein denotes an ediblesemi-solid mixture which is flowable under pressure, but willsubstantially retain its own shape if in the form of layer or smallmound. Examples of pastes are plain and flavored sugar creams, jams andmarshmallow, such as are used for sweet fillings in cracker sandwiches,it being understood that the paste does not have to be sweet inasmuch asit may constitute a filling such as peanut butter. It also is pointedout that the term paste as used herein embraces paste-like materials ofthe kind above mentioned in which there are incorporated chunks of solidcomestibles as, for instance, chunks of fruit or nuts. The term crackeras used hereinafter denotes one or more leavened or unleavened, sweet orunsweetened wafers having paste on one or both sur- .faces thereof.

It is an object of my invention to provide an apparatus of the characterdescribed which [are] is speedy and efiicient and will produce a neatand attractive cracker.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described which will locate a deposit of paste accurately on awafer.

It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described which [are] is capable of producing eithersandwich-type crackers or crackers consisting simply of a wafer with anexposed deposit of paste thereon.

7 It is another object of my invention to provide an apparatus of thecharacter described which comprises relatively few and simple parts andis entirely automatic in operation.

Other objects of my invention in part'will be obvious and in part willbe pointed out hereinafter.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts and series of stepswhich will be exemplified in the" apparatus hereinafter described and ofwhich the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the variouspossible embodiments of my invention:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through an apparatus constructedin accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the pasteapplicator station, the same being taken substantially along the line 22of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an auxiliary view taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 1 and illustrating the cut-off knife mechanism employed at thepaste applicator station;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line4-4 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the first wafer delivery station;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line55 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the second wafer delivery station;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line6-6 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the pressure station at which the pastelayer is lightly squeezed between the upper and lower wafers of asandwich;

FIG. 7 is an auxiliary view taken substantially along the line 7--7 ofFIG. 1 and illustrating the exit station;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a detail of the apparatus, the sameshowing a pusher at a point between the paste applicator station and thesecond wafer delivery station; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a finished sandwich.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10denotes an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention. Saidapparatus includes a drive shaft 12 and an idler shaft 14 on which aremounted, respectively, sprockets 16, 18. The two shafts are horizontaland coplanar. The shaft 12' is rotated by a suitable mechanism as, forexample, an electric motor 19. Preferably this shaft is turned at aconstant low speed. The two shafts are suitably journalled in aframework which, for the sake of clarity, has been omitted from thedrawings. Said motor has a sprocket on its output shaft which engages achain 19a that is trained about a sprocket (not shown) on the driveshaft 12. The chain 19a is overly long and the slack therein is taken upby a pair of idler sprockets 19b and 19c. The upper idler sprocket 19brides on the outside of one reach of the chain 19a and the other idlersprocket 19c rides on the outside of the other reach of the chain 19a,the two idler sprockets being equidistant from the drive shaft 12.Suitable adjusting means (not shown) is included to draw the two idlersprockets 19b, 19c toward one another sufficiently to take up the slackin the chain 19a. Moreover, both said idler sprockets are mounted on acommon frame (not shown) which is shiftable in a direction perpendicularto an imaginary line between the axes of rotation of the sprocket on themtor 19 and the sprocket driven thereby on the drive shaft 12.Additionally, means such as a lead screw and nut, the latter beingsecured to the frame which carries the two idler sprockets, is includedto shift both said sprockets simultaneously thereby to decrease theslack in one of the reaches of the chain 19a while concurrentlyincreasing the slack in the other reach or vice versa. The reason forthis movement will be described in detail hereinafter.

i A link conveyor chain 20 is trained about the sprockets therebyproviding an upper and a lower horizontal reach; At uniformly spacedintervals the chain is provided with pushers 22 which are so fastened tothe chain as to extend upwardly from the top reach and downwardly fromthe lower reach. All the pushers are identical and each consists of anelongated metal rod of angle-shaped cross section. As best shown in FIG.8, the inner faces of the two flanges which together form the angleshape' face in the direction of movement of the chain, this beingindicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1. All the pushers are of the samelength.

When the pushers are on the upper reach of the chain they move between apair of parallel upstanding walls 24, 26 symmetrically disposed onopposite sides of the upper reach and extending, therefore,longitudinally of the apparatus. The upper edges of the walls arelocated above the tips of the pushers. Thus, the walls define a channelbetween which the pushers move, the walls being spaced from one anothera distance greater than the width of the largest wafer to be handled inthe apparatus.

The apparatus further includes a first wafer delivery station 28' whichcomprises a chute 30 that is substantially vertical and preferablyslopes slightly in a rearward direction as best seen in FIG. 1. Saidchute constitutes a skeletonized back wall and a pair of side wallswhich receive and guide a stack of wafers 32 downwardly toward thechannel defined by the walls 24, 26. The wafers in said chute arehorizontally disposed. Near the bottom of the chute I provide a frontwall 34 which prevents the wafers from moving forwardly in the directionof movement A of the pushers. This front wall terminates at a bottomedge 36.

The side walls 24, 26 support a pair of inwardly extending flanges 38,40 which are horizontally coplanar, and as best can be seen in FIG. 2provide inwardly extending ledges which are adapted to support wafersmoved forwardly out of the chute 30 by the pushers. The ledges aredisposed at such a horizontal level in the vicinity of the first waferdelivery station that they are spaced below the bottom edge 36 of thewall 34 a distance slightly in excess of the height of a single waferand less than the height of two wafers.

In operation of the apparatus the lowermost wafer 32 in the deliverychute rests on the ledges 38, 40 the center of the wafer bridging thespan between said ledges. When a pusher sweeps past the first waferdelivery station, it will engage and start to move only the lowermostwafer in the stack. The lengths of the pushers are such that the tip ofany pusher engaging the bottom wafer in the delivery chute 30 will clearthe next uppermost wafer. Moreover, advance movement of the next to thebottom wafer, due to frictional engagement with the bottom wafer, isprevented by the front wall 34 which such next to the bottom waferengages at this time.

It further will be noted that, due to the dihedral angle of the walls ofthe pusher, the central location of the pusher between the ledges 38,40, and the symmetrical disposition of the dihedral angle with respectto the channel, when round wafers 32 are fed into the apparatus, theyautomatically are centered in the dihedral angle upon engagement withthe pusher. However, it should be mentioned that the apparatus is not tobe limited to employment with round wafers as it will function withequal facility on other shapes of wafers, e.g.,

oval and rectangular wafers.

The ledges 38, 40 run forwardly from the first wafer delivery station toa paste applicator station 42 which constitutes the principal feature ofmy invention. Desirably, although not necessarily, the ledges maintainthe same horizontal level from the first wafer delivery station to andpast the applicator station so that the wafers travel in a singlehorizontal plane to and beyond the applicator station while being movedat uniform speed and at a uniform predetermined spacing by the pushers.

The novel paste applicator station comprises a conical hopper 44 inwhich the paste material is disposed. As noted earlier, the pastematerial consists of a flowable semi-solid material such, for instance,as creams, sugar pastes, marshmallow, peanut butter, jams etc. andvariegated mixtures thereof, and, optionally, may include small chunksof solid materials like nuts, fruits and berries. The hopper terminatesin a lower orifice 46 through which the paste is propelled by a helicalfeed screw 48 mounted on a vertical shaft 50 and suitably rotated by adriving mechanism (not shown), e.g., an electric motor, the shaft beingcentered in the hopper. The orifice 46 is connected, as by a shortlength of vertical tubing 52 in which the feed screw 48 is snuglyrotatable, to an elbow 54 that leads to a horizontal conduit 56extending transversely across the channel defined by the walls 24, 26and, therefore, transversely across the paths of travelv of the wafersadvanced through the apparatus by the pushers.

A rotary extrusion plate 58 turns on the conduit 56 which serves as ajournal therefor. Said plate turns between a pair of collars 60 securedas by set screws 62 to the conduit, said collars being hollowed toreceive glands 63 that prevent leakage of the paste. The plate is ofcircular peripheral configuration and is provided with a series, e.g.,four, of radially extending passageways 64 that extend from the interiorbore of the plate where it rotatably engages the conduit to the externalperiphery of said plate. Optionally, although not necessarily, thepassageways are of uniform transverse contour throughout their lengths.The outer terminal of each passageway is of the shape of the pastematerial which it is desired to deposit upon the lower wafer taken fromthe first delivery station 28. This usually will be circular, althoughit is within the scope of my invention to form said outer terminals tomatch the configuration of the wafers being handled in the apparatus;for instance, if the apparatus is making peanut butter sandwiches andutilizing square soda crackers for the top and bottom of the sandwich,the passageways 64 may have outer square terminals which will, however,be smaller in length and width than the soda crackers of the sandwich.In the preferred form of my invention shown herein, the desiredconfiguration is given to the outer terminal of each passageway 64 byproviding the outer end of said passageway with an insert plate 65suitably held in a matching recess in the plate 58 as by means ofscrews.

The inner terminals of the passageways 64 sweep around the periphery ofthe conduit 56 in a common path in the direction of the arrow B, and ata point in this path the conduit is formed with an opening 66. Anexcellent location for this opening is the top of the conduit. However,I do not wish to be limited thereto, since it soon will be seen thatsaid opening can be provided anywhere on the conduit (within the pathsof travel of the inner terminals of the passageways 64) beyond, ratherthan just before, the bottom of the extrusion plate 58 in the directionB of movement of said plate. The bottom of the extrusion plate islocated directly above and only a short distance from, e.g., onequarteror one eighth of an inch, the path of travel of wafers moved through theapparatus by the pushers, the outer terminals of the passageways 64-being centered on such path of travel.

The extrusion plate 58 is turned by a sprocket 68 which is fixed to acollar 70 rotatable on a shaft 72. Said collar carries radial arms 74that are fastened in any suitable manner, e.g., by bolts 76, to a sideof the extrusion plate whereby said plate rotates as a unit with thesprocket. The shaft 72 is supported at one end on a plug 78 wedged inand closing the outer end of the conduit 56 and at its other end in abearing 80 carried by a bracket 82 fastened to the framework of theapparatus.

It will be appreciated that, as the extrusion plate turns, each time theinner terminal of one of the passageways 64 crosses the conduit opening66, a quantity of paste will be expressed into such passageway due tothe pressure exerted by the feed screw 48. The amount of material thusexpressed will depend upon the design and rate of rotation of the feedscrew which can be varied in any manner well known to the art as, forinstance, by driving the shaft 50 of said feed screw by an electricmotor the speed of which can be varied by adjustment of a rheostat. Dueto the introduction of extra paste into this passageway, an equal amountof paste will be extruded from the outer terminal of said passagewaythis extruded paste being indicated by the reference numeral 84 (seeFIGS 1 and 2). As the extrusion plate turns, the extruded paste willdescend along with the plate until it is directly above the paths oftravel or the wafers.

In the preferred form of my invention, to prevent undue strain on theextrusion parts occasioned by complete cutofl of paste flow when thepassageways 64 are disaligned with the conduit opening 66, I provide acircumferential restricted relief passageway 85 which connects the innerterminals of all the passageways 64 to said opening 66 whereby a limitedflow of paste will take place even when no passageway 64 is aligned withsaid conduit opening. This flow is so slight as not materially to affectthe measured extrusion of paste on each of the wafers but by relievingstress imparted due to turning of the feed screw greatly lengthens thelife of the apparatus.

The paste applicator station further includes a cutofi knife mechanism86 (see FIGS 1 and 3) which essentially consists of a fine taut wire 88lying across the extrusion plate and riding on its outer periphery so asto be in abutment therewith and thereby closely to traverse the outerterminals of the extrusion passageways 64 as the plate turns. The wireis positioned at the bottom of the extrusion plate thereby to cut offthe extruded paste 84 as it reaches the lowest point of its descentwhile still carried by the extrusion plate.

Said wire is carried in a frame comprising a horizontal shaft 90 that isjournalled in a vertical plate 92 suitably secured to the framework ofthe apparatus. The shaft 90 is in back of the extrusion plate, that isto say, between the extrusion plate and the first wafer deliverystation. A pair of parallel arms 94, 96 extend away from said shaft 90toward the bottom of the extrusion plate. The arm 94 mounts an anchorpin 98 to which one end of the wire 88 is affixed. Said wire is threadedthrough an opening in the tip of the arm 94 and through a registeredopening in the tip of the arm 96, the other end of said wire beingattached to the end of a threaded rod 100 which extends freely throughthe shaft 90. A nut 102 screwed on the rod 100 will, when turned,tighten or loosen the 'wire 88.

' This nut is so regulated as to maintain the wire 88 taut between thearms 94, 96. A radial post 104 mounted on the shaft 90 carries a weight106. Said post extends away from the shaft 90 in a direction opposite tothe wire arms 94, 96 and thereby will bias the wire against the bottomof the extrusion plate.

It now will be appreciated that as the extrusion plate turns, theextruded paste 84 will be cut away from the outer terminal of itsassociated passageway 64 while it passm the wire 88 thereby forming alayer 108 of paste which is free to descend from the extrusion plate.

A chain 110 is trained about the sprocket 68 and also about anothersprocket 112 which is secured to the output shaft 114 of a motor 116.The motor derives its energy from a suitable source of electric powerand the speed thereof is controlled by a rheostat 118. The speed of themotor is so regulated that the peripheral speed of the extrusion plateexactly matches the linear rate of travel of the link conveyor chain 20and, therefore, of the pushers 22 and the wafers 32, it being noted thatthe direction of travel of the bottom of the plate is the same as thatof the wafers. Moreover, the apparatus is so adjusted that the outerterminals of the extrus ion passage ways 64 and the wafers 32 beingadvanced by the pushers are synchronized; that is to say, a layer 108 ofpaste is severed from an extrusion passageway as a wafer passes belowthe outer terminal of such passageway. Preferably, the synchronizationis such that the leading edge of the paste layer 108 will fall slightlyin back of the leading edge of the wafer passing below the extrusionplate as the wire begins to cut the extruded paste 84. Thereafter, asthis extruded paste is further cut by the knife upon continuedrevolution of the extrusion plate, the remainder of the layer willgradually deposit upon such wafer, it being noted that since the speedof the layer and the speed of the wafer are exactly matched, the layeris deposited in the shape in which it is cut and is neither stretchednor compressed. In this manner, wafer after wafer will have uniformlydeposited thereon a paste layer which is nicely centered on the wafer asit passes beneath the paste applicator station. In FIG. 8 I have shownthe appearance of the wafer shortly after it has left the pasteapplicator station and is being advanced by a pusher along the ledges38, 40 to the next operation.

The foregoing synchronization is obtained by the simultaneouslyshiftable idler sprockets 19b and 19c; that is to say, by increasing ordecreasing the slack in one or the other of the reaches of the chain 19awhile at the same time decreasing or increasing the slack in the otherreach, the angular position of the shaft 12 at any given time will beslightly shifted and thereby the relative relationship between thepushers 22 and the passageways 64 can be adjusted to secure the desiredsynchronization.

It may be mentioned at this point that, if desired, the layer 108 neednot be matched in configuration to the wafer on which it is deposited.For example, when a comparatively soft paste is being applied, it oftenis desirable simply to deposit the extruded paste as a dollop, i.e., amound, at the center of the wafer, this material subsequently, as soonwill be seen, being squeezed out toward the periphery of the water.However, I prefer to cut and deposit a paste layer which approximatelymatches the contour although not the dimensions of the lower wafer, andthis arrangement is particularly desirable in certain types of crackersas, for example, where no top wafer subsequently is to be placed overthe paste.

The apparatus further includes a second wafer delivery station which isutilized when a sandwich-type cracker is to be made. The ledges 38, 40run forwardly from the paste applicator station to the second waferdelivery station. However, at a point intermediate said stations, theledges incline downwardly by an amount preferably slightly more than thecombined thicknesses of the first wafer and the paste layer 108. By thetime the ledges have reached the second paste applicator station, theyagain are horizontal and remain so as they pass beneath said station.

The second wafer delivery station, like the first one, comprises a chute122 that is substantially vertical and preferably slopes slightly in arearward direction as best can be seen in FIG. 1. Said chute constitutesa skeletonized back wall and a pair of side walls which receive andguide a stack of wafers 124 downwardly toward the channel defined by thewalls 24, 26. The wafers in said chute are horizontally disposed. .Nearthe bottom of the chute I provide a front wall 126 which prevents thewafers from moving forwardly in the direction of movement A of thepushers. This front wall terminates at a bottom edge 128.

In addition to the ledges 38, 40 the side walls 24, 26 at the secondwafer delivery station support a pair of inwardly extending flanges 130,132 which are horizontally coplanar and, as best can be seen in FIG. 5,provide inwardly extending ledges which are adapted to support wafers124 moved forwardly out of the chute by the pushers. The ledges 130, 132are disposed .at such a horizontal level in the vicinity of the secondwafer delivery station that they are spaced below the bottom. edge 128of the wall 126 a distance slightly in excess of the height of a singlewafer and less than the height of two such wafers.

In operation of the apparatus the lowermost wafer 124 in the deliverychute 122 rests on the ledges 130, 132 the center of the wafer bridgingthe span between said ledges. The ledges 130, 132 support the lowermostwafer in the chute 122 at a level just above the top of the paste layer108. When a pusher advancing a bottom wafer 32 on which .a paste layer108 has been deposited sweeps past the second biscuit delivery station120, it will engage and start to move only the lowermost wafer in thestack. The height of the ledges 130, 132 is such that the tip of apusher engaging the lowermost wafer in the second stack will clear thenext to the bottom wafer in said stack but will firmly engage thelowermost wafer. Moreover, advance movement of the next to the bottomwafer, due to frictional engagement with the bottom wafer, is preventedby the front wall 126 which such next to the lowermost wafer engages atthis time.

Thus, as a pusher moves under and away from the second wafer deliverystation, it will advance a wafer -with its paste filling riding on theledges 38, 40 and simultaneously will advance an upper wafer 124 whichis riding directly above the lower wafer and filling on the ledges 130,132. The ledges 130, 132 terminate shortly beyond the second waferdelivery station so that as the upper wafer leaves these ledges it willgently rest on the paste filling.

Optionally at this time, i.e., after the deposit of the upper wafer onthe paste layer to complete the sandwich, the cracker can be removedfrom the machine and packed. However, it often is desirable to gentlysqueeze the filling between the two wafers, and the apparatus,

7 therefore, includes suitable means for effecting such operation. Saidmeans comprises a pressure station 134. Essentially, said station simplyconsists of an elongated horizontal weight bar 136 the underside of theleading edge 138 whereof is upwardly sloped. The bar lies in the path oftravel of the top wafer 124 of each sandwich now being advanced by thepushers and its lower edge is slightly below the top surface of suchsandwich. Thus, as the sandwich engages the leading edge of the bar, thebar will ride up over the same and gently urge the upper waferdownwardly toward the lower wafer there-by lightly compressing the pastefilling 108 sandwiched therebetween. To maintain the bar at its properhorizontal level, the bar is provided with a pair of upstanding rods 140which are guided in overhead frames 142 the guiding being non-confiningin a vertical direction so as not to unduly increase the weight to whichthe comparatively frail wafers are subjected during the squeezingoperation.

The pushers now advance the finished sandwiches to an exit station 144where any suitable stacking mechanism, such, for example, as that shownin my United States Letters Patent No. 2,358,413, issued September 19,1944, for Stacking Machine, is provided. Said mechanism includes astandard stacking cam 146 consisting of plural cam plates operatingbetween a grating 148, so as to receive the sandwiches as they turnaround the sprocket 18 and transfer them in vertical position to apacking platform 150.

Desirably, the apparatus automatically will stop if the wire 88 breaksinasmuch as continued operation thereof in such case would smear pasteover all the moving parts of the machine. To this end, I thereforeprovide a sensing element as, for example, the feeler 152 of amicroswitch 154. Said feeler is located directly beneath the Weight 106when the latter is in the normal operat ing position it assumes when thewire is riding on the periphery of the extrusion plate 58. Hence, whenthe wire breaks and the weight drops, it will strike the feeler of themicroswitch. The microswitch has several normally closed contacts whichall are opened upon the feeler being engaged. One of these contacts isin the circuit for the motor 19 which turns the drive shaft 12. Anotheris in the circuit of the motor which turns the shaft 50. Still anotheris in the circuit of the motor 116 which turns the sprocket 68. Thus,when the microswitch is actuated the machine immediately stops.

It thus will be seen that I have provided an apparatus which achievesthe various objects of my invention and are well adapted to meet theconditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention andas various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, itis to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

[1. In an apparatus of the character described for applying a comestiblepaste layer to a comestible wafer, the combination of: means foradvancing a series of wafers at a predetermined speed and inpredetermined spaced relationship along a predetermined path of travel,and a paste applicator comprising a cylindrical member mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis and having a hollow interior and aplurality of passageways leading from said interior to outer terminalson angularly spaced sections of the periphery of the member, said memberbeing located above the path of travel of the wafers, means for rotatingsaid member about said axis, the speed and direction of travel of theperiphery of the member being such that the outer terminals ofsuccessive passageways are above and synchronized with successive movingwafers when the outer terminal of each passageway is lowermost, meansfor intermittently expressing paste from the interior of said memberinto each of said passageways successively so that paste intermittentlyis extruded from the outer terminals of said successive passageways, andcutting means for severing the extruded paste at the lowermost outerterminal of said member as said terminal passes over a moving wafer soas to deposit paste as a layer on said wafer] [2. A combination as setforth in claim 1 wherein the means for cutting extruded paste from thecylindrical member comprises a wire bearing against the lowermostportion of the cylindrical member] [3. A combination as set forth inclaim 2 wherein a frame is provided for supporting the wire and whereinmeans is included to bias the frame against the lowermost portion of thecylindrical member] [4. In an apparatus of the character described forapplying a plastic comestible to an object, the combination of: meansfor advancing the object along a predetermined path of travel, and acomestible applicator comprising a cylindrical member mounted forrotation about a horizontal axis and having a hollow interior and aplurality of passageways leading from said interior to outer terminalson angularly spaced sections of the periphery of the member, said memberbeing located above the path of travel of the moving object, means forrotating said member about said axis, means for forcing plasticcomestible under pressure from the interior of said member into saidpassageways so that comestible is extruded from the outer terminals ofthe passageways, and cutting means for severing the extruded comestibleat the lowermost outer terminal of said member as said terminal passesover the moving object so as to deposit the comestible as a layerthereon] 5. In an apparatus of the character described for applying aplastic comestible to an object, the combination of: means for advancingthe object along a predetermined path of travel, and a comestibleapplicator, said applicator comprising a hopper, a tubular horizontalstationary cylindrical member having an open end and a closed end, saidmember having a hollow unobstructed interior, conduit means connectingthe hopper to the open end of the cylindrical member, a circularextrusion plate having a central opening received rotatably on thehorizontal cylindrical member so as to mount said plate for rotationabout the horizontal axis of said member, said cylindrical member havinga lateral through opening therein remote from the bottom of said memberfor leading the plastic comestible from the interior to the exterior ofsaid member, said plate being located on and covering the portion ofsaid cylindrical member which includes said lateral opening, said platehaving a plurality of passageways leading from the central opening ofsaid plate to outer terminals on angularly spaced sections of theperiphery of the plate, the inner terminals of said passageways sweepingin succession over said lateral opening, said plate being located abovethe path of travel of the moving object, means for rotating said plateabout said horizontal axis, said conduit means including means forforcing plastic comestible under pressure from the hopper into theunobstructed interior of the hollow cylindrical member through the openend thereof and then through the lateral opening in the cylindricalmember into said passageways in succession when the outer terminals ofthe passageways are remote from their lowermost position, so thatplastic comestible is extruded from the outer terminals of thepassageways while the outer terminals are removed from their lowermostposition, and cutting means for severing the extruded comestible at thelowermost outer terminal of said plate as said terminal passes over themoving object so as to deposit the comestible as a layer thereon.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the means for advancingthe object along a predetermined path of travel advances a series ofobjects along said path at a predetermined speed and in predeterminedspaced relationship, and wherein the speed and direction of travel ofthe periphery of the circular extrusion plate is such that the outerterminals of successive passageways are above 9 1 0 and synchronizedwith successive moving objects when 2,356,853 Keller Aug. 29, 1944 theouter terminal of each passageway is lowermost. 2,394,795 ManspeakerFeb. 12, 1946 2,520,493 Curlee Aug. 29, 1950 gfgg gg fig fig g fig2,657,646 Derbyshire et a1 Nov. 3, 1953 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS2,846,960 Govatsos Aug. 12, 1958 820,388 Carter May 15, 1906 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,879,951 Roehl Sept. 27, 1932 161,396 Australia Feb. 22, 1955

